# Nalini Parthiban

> Nalini Parthiban is the Chennai-based co-founder and CEO of Sweet Karam Coffee, a South Indian sweets, snacks and filter-coffee brand started by her family in 2015. Previously employed at Royal Bank of Scotland and IDP Education, she moved into the venture full-time in 2021. Her public interviews focus on customer-led product development, working with women producers and taking regional food to customers across India and overseas.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Sweet Karam Coffee
- **Organizations:** Sweet Karam Coffee, Royal Bank of Scotland, IDP Education
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree (subject unspecified), Anna University, Chennai, MBA, Anna University, Chennai, College of Engineering, Guindy
- **Known for:** Co-founded a family venture in 2015 that developed into an internationally distributed South Indian food brand., Led Sweet Karam Coffee as co-founder and CEO through its April 2025 $8 million Series A., In July 2024, said almost 70% of the brand’s manufacturing came from women entrepreneurs.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2021** — Worked at Royal Bank of Scotland and IDP Education; precise employment dates are not established.
- **2015** — Co-founded Sweet Karam Coffee as a family venture in Chennai.
- **2021** — Left corporate employment to work on Sweet Karam Coffee full-time.
- **2023** — Sweet Karam Coffee raised $1.5 million from Fireside Ventures in October.
- **2024** — Spoke at Tamil Nadu Story in Chennai about distribution and women-led production.
- **2025** — Sweet Karam Coffee announced an $8 million Series A led by Peak XV Partners with Fireside Ventures in April.
- **2026** — Discussed the business in Fortune India’s The Disruptors and Fireside Ventures’ Before It Was Obvious.

## Achievements

- Co-founded a family venture in 2015 that developed into an internationally distributed South Indian food brand.
- Led Sweet Karam Coffee as co-founder and CEO through its April 2025 $8 million Series A.
- In July 2024, said almost 70% of the brand’s manufacturing came from women entrepreneurs.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Fireside Ventures published a founder-conversation account covering portfolio discipline, a Madras Mixture reformulation and a consumer testing group.
- **2026-09** — Fireside Ventures listed its Before It Was Obvious conversation with Nalini Parthiban and Anand Bharadwaj on September 22.
- **2026-05** — Appeared in Fortune India’s The Disruptors to discuss family recipes, regional snacks and distribution.

## Links

- Website: https://sweetkaramcoffee.in/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naliniparthiban/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/nalini-parthiban
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-16